City Council will vote on a budget plan today that will include no public safety layoffs, but about 60 other public employees will likely be jobless as a result of the plan in a couple weeks. The budget proposal comes after months of city officials claiming public safety layoffs were unavoidable without the city's plan to lease its parking assets to the Port Authority. But the parking plan is now being held up in court, and the layoffs were avoided anyway.

The Ohio Senate revealed a budget plan yesterday that made some major tax changes to the Ohio House proposal, but the budget will still effectively defund Planned Parenthood, fund anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers and forgo the Medicaid expansion. The Ohio Senate plan passes on the Ohio House's 7-percent across-the-board income tax cut for all Ohioans and instead focuses on a 50-percent tax cut for small businesses. The bill also undid controversial language that forced public universities and colleges to decide between out-of-state tuition rates and providing out-of-state students with documents required for voting. CityBeat covered the conservative social policies in the Ohio House budget plan, which remain in the Ohio Senate bill, here.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald came out in support of same-sex marriage in a May 17 interview with Outlook Columbus, putting him at odds with Republican opponent and incumbent Gov. John Kasich, who is running for re-election in 2014. Kasich previously implied support for same-sex civil unions in an interview with a local TV news station, but his spokesperson later walked back that support and reiterated the governor's opposition to same-sex civil unions and marriage. Same-sex marriage could be on the ballot in 2013 through FreedomOhio's efforts, which CityBeat covered in greater detail here.

The vice presidential debate is tonight. The debate will
be between Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan. After the last
debate, some pundits are saying Biden needs to win this one to slow down
the Romney-Ryan momentum. But keep in mind political scientists say
debates have little to no electoral impact in the long term, so it’s
possible most of the post-debate polling in favor of Mitt Romney could
indicate a temporary bounce. The debate is at 9 p.m. and will be aired on all the big networks. The full schedule of presidential debates can be found here.

Romney might campaign in Lebanon, Ohio this weekend. Ohio
is considered a must-win for the Republican presidential candidate. Even
with a post-debate bounce, Romney still looks to be the underdog in
Ohio. The latest poll from NBC, Wall Street Journal and Marist shows
Romney down six points to Obama among likely voters in the state with a
margin of error of 3.1. The poll does show the race tightening from the
eight-point gap measured on Oct. 3, but it’s apparently not enough. By
itself, the poll could be considered an outlier and too optimistic for
Obama, but it actually echoes the latest CNN poll and aggregate polling
taken after the debate. In aggregate polling, Romney is down 1.6 points
in Ohio after the NBC/WSJ/Marist poll. Before the latest poll, he was
down 0.8 points.

A new poll shows a slim majority of Ohioans now support
same-sex marriage. The poll found 52 percent of Ohioans support it,
while 37 percent want it to stay illegal. The poll gives a shot of
optimism to Freedom to Marry Ohio, an amendment that would legalize
same-sex marriage in the state. Supporters say the amendment could be on
the Ohio ballot as soon as November 2013.

State Auditor Dave Yost wants to put the attendance fraud
investigation in context. When talking with Gongwer yesterday, Yost
explained that the potential data rigging going could have cost schools additional funding for at-risk students: “I suspect we
probably have schools in Ohio that ought to be getting that extra money
for those extra services to help those schools that are most at risk,
and that money is not flowing because the data is not accurate.”

Will county budget cuts hurt public safety? As the county
commissioners try to sort out the budget without raising taxes, Hamilton County’s sheriff
department could see some cuts, according to Commissioner Greg Hartmann. He insists the cuts will not hurt public safety, however.

A Nuns on the Bus tour is encouraging voters to support
politicians that provide for the poor. The tour will avoid being
partisan and mentioning candidates' names, but the general vibe of the tour implies
support for Democratic candidates.

Josh Mandel, Ohio’s Republican candidate for the U.S.
Senate, has gotten another rating from PolitiFact Ohio. This one is
“Mostly False” for Mandel’s claim that opponent Democratic Sen. Sherrod
Brown has missed more than 350 votes in the Senate. Brown has only
missed 21 out of 1,779 votes since he joined the Senate, and he hasn’t
missed any votes this year. The Mandel campaign claims the ad was
keeping track of Brown’s entire public career, but 83 of the votes Brown
missed in that time period were in 2000, when Brown was in a car accident
in which he broke his ribs and vertebrae.

The NBC/WSJ/Marist poll also had some bad news for Mandel.
He was found to be down 11 points to Brown among likely voters.
Mandel is now down 4.2 points in aggregate polling.

The right-leaning Tax Foundation ranked Ohio No. 39 for
business tax climate. The conservative research group gave Ohio good
marks for unemployment insurance and the corporate tax rate, but it
criticized the state for its individual income tax and property tax. New
York, New Jersey and California were at the bottom of the overall
rankings, and Wyoming, South Dakota and Nevada were at the top.

Jobless claims fell to 339,000 — the lowest in four and a half years.
Coupled with last week’s employment numbers, the news indicates that an
economic recovery is truly underway. However, jobless claims are
very volatile, so it’s uncertain whether the drop will stick.

CityBeat’s full Election Issue is in stands now. Check out our feature stories on three remarkable City Council challengers: Mike Moroski, Michelle Dillingham and Greg Landsman. Find the rest of our election coverage, along with our endorsements, here.

Atheist marriages may last longer than Christian ones. Research shows that divorce rates are highest among Baptists and nondenominational
Christians, while more “theologically liberal” Christians like
Methodists enjoy lower rates. The findings showed that Atheist marriages
held the lowest divorce rates.

A group of Westwood residents held an event Wednesday at
Westwood Town Hall in response to Westwood resident Jim Kiefer’s racist
Facebook post directed at Councilwoman Yvette Simpson. The residents
also created a change.org petition to dispel negative perceptions about
the neighborhood. “For too long, the largest neighborhood in our great
City has been publicly identified by the negative statements of a few
disgruntled, racially insensitive and regressive individuals,” reads the
petition.

Feeling bummed by this gloomy weather? Watch this photographer's stunning time-lapse video compiled from about 10,000 photos he took during a road trip across the country and feel better.

Councilman Wendell Young led a motion signed on Oct. 30 that asks the city administration to allocate $2 million to address racial
disparities in Cincinnati, including disproportionate infant mortality
rates, unemployment rates and statistics that cite the city’s black
population, which make up nearly half of the city’s residents, hold only
1 percent the area’s of economic worth.

The Pacific Ocean warms 15 times faster than it used to. That helps explain why the average global surface-air temperatures have been warming at a slower rate than projected, but scientists aren't sure what kind of impact the warming has on ocean life yet.

The chair of Jelly Belly, Herman Rowland, Sr.,
donated $5,000 to an anti-LGBT conservative efforts “Privacy for All
Students” initiative to overturn California’s new
School Success and Opportunity Act, which protects the rights of
transgender students to participate in school activities.

Montgomery Inn has sold 30 million bottles of barbecue sauce.

Here’s a video of a porcupine making really hilarious noises while eating a pumpkin:

Early voting is now underway. Find your voting location here.
Normal voting hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., although some days are
extended. If you don’t vote early, you can still vote on Election Day
(Nov. 5). Check out CityBeat’s coverage and endorsements for the 2013 election here.

Republican Sen. Rob Portman reversed his stance on same-sex marriage
after his son came out as gay. The announcement means both Ohio
senators are poised to support the Freedom to Marry amendment, which
would legalize gay marriage in Ohio and could be on the ballot this
year. CityBeat covered FreedomOhio’s efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in Ohio in further detail here.

Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld is asking Gov. John Kasich to reverse local government funding cuts carried out during his tenure as governor.
A previous Policy Matters Ohio report found the state has cut local
government funding by $1.4 billion since Kasich took office, which
happens to be the exact amount Kasich says his tax cuts are worth. The
governor’s office has previously argued that Kasich had to make some
cuts to help balance an $8-billion deficit inherited from former Gov.
Ted Strickland, and Kasich is touting his tax cuts as one way to
reinvigorate Ohio’s small businesses. But local officials from around
the state say that money is needed in cities, villages and counties.

The Cincinnati parking plan will be in court today
to determine whether a temporary restraining order should remain and
whether a lawsuit that claims the plan should be subject to referendum
should move forward. If the restraining order does remain, the city says
it will have to make cuts to balance the budget by July — in time for
the 2014 fiscal year. CityBeat wrote more about the lawsuit here and the parking plan here.

State Auditor Dave Yost says he “fully anticipates”
he will get the financial records for JobsOhio, the state-funded
nonprofit agency that Kasich supports. Some state Republicans and Kasich
argue that only JobsOhio’s public funds should be open for audit, but
Yost wants to audit all of the agency’s finances. Kasich says he wants
JobsOhio to eventually replace the Ohio Department of Development, which
is susceptible to a full audit.

Plan Cincinnati won the Frank F. Ferris II Community
Planning Award from The Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission,
which commemorates “a local planning commission or committee whose
efforts have contributed to the elevation of planning principles,
greater awareness of the value of planning and improved quality of
life,” according to a press statement. CityBeat covered Plan Cincinnati, the city’s first master plan since 1980, in further detail here.

Supporters of the Medicaid expansion gathered at a rally
yesterday. As part of his budget proposal, Kasich suggested expanding
Medicaid, which would cover 456,000 Ohioans by 2022 and save the state
money in the next decade, according to the Health Policy Institute of
Ohio. Opponents say they fear the plan will leave the state under an
unsustainable financial commitment. CityBeat wrote more about the Medicaid expansion and the rest of Kasich’s budget here.

LGBT hearings continue, local unemployment falls, tax plan may remain in state budget

The U.S. Supreme Court is heading into its second day of hearings on same-sex marriage
today. Yesterday, the Supreme Court held hearings for Proposition 8, a ballot initiative in California that overturned the legalization of gay marriage. Today, the court will hold hearings on the Defense of
Marriage Act, the law that banned same-sex marriage at a federal level. The Washington Post posted more in-depth information about the legal arguments here.

Cincinnati’s seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate fell sharply
in February, from 8.6 percent in January to 7.5 percent. Unemployment
in Hamilton County also fell from from 7.9 percent in January to 7.1
percent in February, and Greater Cincinnati’s rate fell from 8 percent
to 7.4 percent. The dropping unemployment rates were matched with
more people employed and less people unemployed.

Ohio’s budget director says he thinks the state’s across-the-board income tax cuts will remain
in the 2014-2015 budget, even as lawmakers take out other proposals put
forward by Gov. John Kasich. The plan originally suggested by Kasich
was widely criticized for disproportionately benefiting the wealthy,
which CityBeat covered in further detail here.

Cincinnati is moving toward semi-automated trash collection, which the city has outlined in full detail here.
This spring and summer, approximately 90,000 households will receive a
65-gallon trash cart that will be assigned to each address. As part of
the broader policy, the lids on the trash carts will have to be fully
closed to be collected, and residents will have to call the city to
request a pickup for bulky items. The city says semi-automation will
save money, improve worker safety, free employees for other services,
increase recycling and help keep neighborhoods cleaner and pests out.

In response to USquare development workers not being paid prevailing wage, council members Laure Quinlivan, Cecil
Thomas and Wendell Young are planning to pass a legislation that will
require any construction project using at least 30 percent in city funds
to pay all its workers prevailing wage. “These men were being pressured
to sign documents stating they were paid prevailing wage when it was
closer to minimum wage,” Quinlivan said in a statement. “These workers
lost their jobs when they blew the whistle, and on their behalf, we
intend to end worker exploitation on projects with significant city
investment.”

UC Health, the University of Cincinnati’s medical wing, says it wants to run ambulances in northern Kentucky.
It recently submitted applications for permission through Kentucky’s
Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which requires providers prove the need for some facilities and services before they can be
opened.

Council seeks budget options, city funds come with rules, parking petitions due today

City Council will hold a special meeting at 2 p.m. today
to discuss alternatives to laying off cops and firefighters to balance
the budget, which CityBeat covered in detail here.
Council members Chris Seelbach and P.G. Sittenfeld are pushing to use
casino revenue and cuts elsewhere in the budget to avoid cutting public
safety services. A spokesperson for Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, a
Democrat running for mayor, told CityBeat that Qualls will also
consider every option available. John Cranley, another Democratic
candidate for mayor, has long called the threat of layoffs “the boy
crying wolf.”

City Council unanimously passed a motion
yesterday that will require all parades receiving financial support
from the city to adhere to the city’s anti-discrimination policies. Council members cautioned that the measure won’t
require event hosts to invite fringe groups, but it will ensure
LGBT individuals, people of color and women are allowed to participate
in future events. The measure was inspired by a recent controversy surrounding
the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which barred an LGBT group from participating.

An appeals court will hear arguments
over the Cincinnati parking plan and the city’s use of emergency
clauses on May 6, even though the city had asked for a final decision by
May 1. Hamilton County Judge Robert Winkler’s original ruling decided
emergency clauses do not remove the possibility of a referendum.
Emergency clauses are regularly used by City Council to remove a 30-day
waiting period on passed legislation, but the city says that power is
weakened by Winkler’s ruling since the city will now have to wait for
referendum efforts to safely begin implementation.

Meanwhile, referendum organizers against the parking plan are expected to drop off petitions at City Hall later today. Organizers previously
said they have more than 10,000 unverified signatures, but they’ll need 8,522
verified signatures to get the issue on the ballot. The parking plan, which CityBeat explained in further detail here,
would lease Cincinnati’s parking assets to the Port of Greater
Development Authority to raise funds that would be used to help balance
the deficit for the next two fiscal years and launch development
projects, including a downtown grocery store.

JobsOhio agreed to let State Auditor Dave Yost check their books — private funds and all — last month, but Yost says he’s still in talks
with the agency about future audits. JobsOhio is a publicly funded,
nonprofit corporation established by Gov. John Kasich and the Ohio
legislature to eventually replace the Ohio Department of Development.

Kasich’s advice for opponents of the Medicaid expansion: “Kick them in the shins.”
As part of a broader budget proposal, the governor is seeking to take
advantage of Obamacare to expand Medicaid with financial support from
the federal government, but some Republican legislators fear the money
won’t be there in a few years. Independent analysts say the Medicaid
expansion will save Ohio money, which CityBeat covered alongside Kasich’s budget in further detail here.

The cost of Reds games has gone down since last season, according to one study.

Council to discuss streetcar, bills would protect LGBT, CPS to prevent data scrubbing

City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee is set to discuss the plan to close the streetcar budget gap today, which was proposed by City Manager Milton Dohoney Jr.
on April 30. The plan borrows funding from various capital funding
sources, including a temporary reallocation of Music Hall funds and
money from infrastructure projects surrounding the Horseshoe Casino.
None of the funding pulled can be used to balance the city’s $35 million
operating budget deficit, which is leading to cop and firefighter layoffs, because of limits established in state law
between capital budgets and operating budgets.

A group of bipartisan Ohio legislators proposed bills in the Ohio House and Ohio Senate that would change the state’s anti-discrimination law
to cover gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities. The
measures would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the
state’s anti-discrimination law, joining 21 other states and the
District of Columbia, which already have similar laws.The bills have to
be approved by the Republican-controlled General Assembly and Republican
Gov. John Kasich to become law.

Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) is making changes to prevent attendance data scrubbing following an audit in February
that criticized CPS for the practice. The school district says internal
investigations found no employees intentionally scrubbed data, but the
changes being made should help prevent further problems in the future. The
state auditor’s February report seemed to blame state policy over
individual school districts for the findings. Attendance data scrubbing
can make schools look much better in state reports, which could lead to
increased funds or less regulatory scrutiny from the state.

An audit revealed that the IRS targeted tea party groups
that were critical of government and attempted to educate people on the
U.S. Constitution. The extra scrutiny originated at a
Cincinnati field office.